Considered as will, ‘way of life’ consists of two unresolvable issues. The will is never known in itself; yet, this fact does not negate the possibility of experiencing it. The will can never be fully denied, yet we can create the illusion of a brief hour of rest from the will. I posit that philosophy exists as a ‘way of life’ in the form of this unresolvable will. The world consists of one thing. Arthur Schopenhauer’s project attempts to name this thing, bringing it beyond the vague placeholder…
Read moreConsidered as will, ‘way of life’ consists of two unresolvable issues. The will is never known in itself; yet, this fact does not negate the possibility of experiencing it. The will can never be fully denied, yet we can create the illusion of a brief hour of rest from the will. I posit that philosophy exists as a ‘way of life’ in the form of this unresolvable will. The world consists of one thing. Arthur Schopenhauer’s project attempts to name this thing, bringing it beyond the vague placeholders of other systems of philosophy: the Dao of Daoism, God in Spinoza, what is unified and one in Parmenides. In calling out this placeholder, Schopenhauer achieves his greatness; and simultaneously, Schopenhauer calls out Kant’s wholly unknown x, the thing-in-itself. In calling out the monistic substance and Kant’s wholly unknown x, Schopenhauer points us towards a ‘way of life’. This text explores this ‘way of life’ as an aspect of the epistemological denial of the will.
